End of preview

This is an unformatted preview. Sign up to view the full document

End of preview

Theres a lot of interest in word of mouth these days and for good reason its a powerful purchase influencer across product categories But heres the fundamental question what makes people talk Having a great product is obviously important As Guy Kawasaki recently quipped in Advertising Age It is very hard to evangelize crap But probably the most important factor in getting people to talk is simply to give them something to talk about Experiential marketing gives people a lot to talk about Imagine being engaged in a live one-on-one marketing experience with a product or brand you can touch or talk about with other customers or a brand ambassador The experience likely involves entertainment links to online next steps and a lifestyle tie-in like sports culture or music Add that up and it makes for a memorable interaction--a rich experience to share with others through word of mouth No one questions that word of mouth is a desirable effect What Id argue is that experiential marketing can be among its most potent causes The basis of experiential marketing is a live marketing experience that occurs in person face-to-face You dont have to interrupt consumers or push something at them--and that cuts through the clutter and distraction that marketers are so conscious of today And face-to-face--the most old fashioned marketing medium around--is also the medium in which word of mouth in its most prevalent form occurs A soon-to-be-published article by Walter Carl of Northeastern University notes that an overwhelming majority 80 of word of mouth activity both among incentivized agents and unpaid non-agents occurs in face-to-face or interpersonal settings Cognitive psychologists have long noted that the face-to-face interaction because it engages multiple senses dramatically increases peoples ability to absorb remember and apply learning--meaning that theres a longer window of recall through which the experience can be applied and shared through word of mouth A lot of interacting can happen in a

@Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!

- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley

Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received!

- Camvu Pham, student @ U of M

If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep